Students’ Say On: Dorm Life

Dorm life can be the best of times and the worst of times. The dorm roommate you have in college can become your best friend, who you hang out with and eat ice cream with, have deep talks late at night with, and stay in contact with for the rest of your life. Or he or she can be the kind of person who makes you get up earlier than you have to in order to go out of your way to walk on the other side of campus, even though it adds 8 extra minutes to your walk, just so you don’t have to pass by them and see their face on your way to class. From sharing a bathroom and an itty-bitty room to never having your own personal space for long, dorm life is an adventure.

This week, we asked students to tell us about their experience living in the dorms. Most of the students we talked to had moved out of the dorms into either an apartment or townhouse, but they still remembered their time in the halls very well. It was common for students to have lived in more than one dorm during their time living on campus.

“The worst thing about dorm life, according to most students, was, not surprisingly, the small and cramped rooms and having people around all the time.” Photo from: http://www.radford.edu/content/residence-life/home/residence-halls/muse-hall/gallery/jcr%3Acontent/par/gallery/items/galleryitem_0/largeimage.img.jpg/1433961867056.jpg

Our main question was, “What’s dorm life like?”

One student’s answer: “It smells like pot. And it’s really loud. And when it’s 80 degrees, they turn the heat on. When it’s 30 degrees, they turn the A/C on. So that’s fun.”

When asked what their favorite thing about living on campus was, the main answer was the proximity to everything, whether it be food places, classes, or friends. “If I wanted to go home and take a nap, I don’t have to walk up a hill. If I wanted Wendy’s, I can get Wendy’s. And it came along with a food plan, and I like food,” said one student. “All my friends live right next to me,” said another. Others talked about liking the study spaces and how it was a great way to make friends and meet new people.

The worst thing about dorm life, according to most students, was, not surprisingly, the small and cramped rooms and having people around all the time either next door, floors above you, floors below you, or in your room. Having to share such a small room was another least favorite thing about the dorms.

We also asked if they could change one thing about the dorms, what would it be? Most said everyone should have their own bathroom. Another popular answer was to have parking that was closer to campus. “You have to park 3,000 miles away,” said one student, and she wasn’t exaggerating much.